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tessisreading2's review
4.0
Well-written and comprehensive. No, more comprehensive than that. No, I mean really, really comprehensive. Sometimes mind-numbingly comprehensive. I have mixed feelings about the author's organizational choice - the book is arranged in sections, e.g. personal life, war, governance in Prussia, etc. - but over all I was able to read the book in a few days so it kept moving enough to be readable for me, someone with only a vague interest in Frederick the Great. (I now know more than I ever really needed to, and I can fairly confidently state that will suffice me for... ever, really.)
dirt1237's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Good historical biographies rest on two pillars, accuracy and readability. This book is.... a little tilty. lol
I appreciate Blanning's rigor and objectivity. I never felt sceptical of his information, nor for that matter, his opinions. He references sources in a way that's clear and thorough, and makes it a point to highlight which historical information is more or less likely reliable, and why. His subject matter is broad and doesn't make me feel like he's ommitting parts of who Frederick was, how he lived, or the impact he had. His personal opinions on Frederick and on historical events are present, but are never extreme or seemingly unfounded, and are never presented as fact. There's always some amount of author interpretation in any biography, and I found his to be fair, honest, and reasonable. All of this puts me at ease. I can never fully enjoy a biography, no matter how theatrically written, if I feel I have to take everything in it with a grain of salt. (cough-nancymitford-cough) So for that, full marks.
That said, readability was not entirely there. I've certainly seen worse, and personally, I had no problem getting through this book. If you don't have TikTok brain rot, you'll probably be fine. But it definitely is a bit on the dry side. And I agree with the previous reviewer that the organization is questionable. It works, but it didn't fully flow.
Also, I would add that Blanning has stronger and weaker subjects. In biographies, I'm usually more interested in the physcholoy of the person, in their relationships with others, and in the culture and politics of the time. Less so in the technicalities of war and the minutia of battle. I suspect for Blanning it's the other way around. Because I found his chapters on Frederick's military career to be by far the most readable. And props where they're due for that, I enjoyed a subject I wouldn't normally. His chapters on Frederick's psychology and personal life were good, also. However, when it came to art and culture, something that was massively important to Frederick and really shouldn't be skipped over in any proper biography of him, the writing style became a painful drudge. There was still some good information here and there, but half the time I felt like I was reading inventories of his art collection or scanning blueprints for the architecture he built. Not a very engaging way to discuss his relationship with art and culture. Those chapters were, for me, definitely the low point of the book.
But all in all, readability was middling in quality, and accuracy was quite high, so I would place this book above average. This is currently, to me, the definitive biography of Frederick the Great.
I appreciate Blanning's rigor and objectivity. I never felt sceptical of his information, nor for that matter, his opinions. He references sources in a way that's clear and thorough, and makes it a point to highlight which historical information is more or less likely reliable, and why. His subject matter is broad and doesn't make me feel like he's ommitting parts of who Frederick was, how he lived, or the impact he had. His personal opinions on Frederick and on historical events are present, but are never extreme or seemingly unfounded, and are never presented as fact. There's always some amount of author interpretation in any biography, and I found his to be fair, honest, and reasonable. All of this puts me at ease. I can never fully enjoy a biography, no matter how theatrically written, if I feel I have to take everything in it with a grain of salt. (cough-nancymitford-cough) So for that, full marks.
That said, readability was not entirely there. I've certainly seen worse, and personally, I had no problem getting through this book. If you don't have TikTok brain rot, you'll probably be fine. But it definitely is a bit on the dry side. And I agree with the previous reviewer that the organization is questionable. It works, but it didn't fully flow.
Also, I would add that Blanning has stronger and weaker subjects. In biographies, I'm usually more interested in the physcholoy of the person, in their relationships with others, and in the culture and politics of the time. Less so in the technicalities of war and the minutia of battle. I suspect for Blanning it's the other way around. Because I found his chapters on Frederick's military career to be by far the most readable. And props where they're due for that, I enjoyed a subject I wouldn't normally. His chapters on Frederick's psychology and personal life were good, also. However, when it came to art and culture, something that was massively important to Frederick and really shouldn't be skipped over in any proper biography of him, the writing style became a painful drudge. There was still some good information here and there, but half the time I felt like I was reading inventories of his art collection or scanning blueprints for the architecture he built. Not a very engaging way to discuss his relationship with art and culture. Those chapters were, for me, definitely the low point of the book.
But all in all, readability was middling in quality, and accuracy was quite high, so I would place this book above average. This is currently, to me, the definitive biography of Frederick the Great.